You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once. - Robert A. Heinlein -

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Saturday, November 15, 2003

YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!

It seems that there has been someone using my name! Yep, some twitterpated nutjob thought it would be great fun to use my name and my info to go trolling some blogs.

From the comment he left over at Armed Liberal, his IP number is 64.12.96.205, and well, mine is not. If you've come here all upset over a comment left on your blog, please check the IP before you start typing in the comments. If you happen to get any more information on the troll, please drop me a line. And if you're not sure just who is leaving trails of crap all over your comments, let me know. I've been known to use a bit of vitrol in my writing, but trolling is something I won't sink to.

If I start an arguement, I'll stick around to argue.

UPDATE: Well, I've been updated by this kind gentleman, who informed me that the troll left the IP of 64.12.97.6 on his site. He says it's an AOL server. Veeeeeeery Iiiiiiiiinteresting. I wonder if AOL appreciates someone using their software to defame a person?

UPDATE 2: It seems the troll hit this woman's page, using the IP of 205.188.209.11, which makes me wonder if it's more than one troll.

UPDATE 3: Ross informed me that the troll had hit his website, using the IP of 205.188.208.138. The first two IP's (Armed Liberal's and Franks) are damn near identical, as are the last two (Ross' and Ms. Hayden's). Keep the IP's coming, folks. I want a LIST!

Well, the protest worked out quite well. Analog Kid and I met up with our pals Sondra and Joe, and went to the overpass at about 0900. By the time we arrived, there were several hundred counter-protesters waving flags and holding signs that read "Support Our Troops". The VFW had a booth up, and there were plenty of vets who brought out a huge flagpole and ran up both the US flag and the MIA/POW flag. I had my US and US Army flags on a makeshift flagpole, and AK had brought his sign on a hickory axe handle. We were set. We waited. And waited. And waited.

And waited.

By 1100 there were approximately 1000 counter-protesters on that overpass, and so many had shown up that the two overpasses north and one south had been filled with people waving the US flag. There were finally a few protesters who showed their faces at 1230. By 1300 they had formed a little group and marched over to the entrance of the National Guard Armory, where they were quickly surrounded by the counter-protesters, who held up US flags and signs. You could barely read any of the protester's signs. I saw one obligitory A.N.S.W.E.R. banner, and most of the cliched logos that the moonbats use, but you could tell that they never expected anyone to show up and rally against them. One man was standing in front of a "Wage Peace" sign with a home-made banner of his own. I have a few shots of him holding it up.

"Visualize Peace, through the lens of your AN/PVS-4's"

That would be the night optical scope for heavy weapons such as the .50 cal and MK 19. In any case, it was a success. We didn't stop the protesters from saying anything, we just made sure that we raised our voices louder. Our folks got right in the middle of them, in front of them, and on every corner facing them. As the troops drove by in ones and twos, they saw flags, banners, and signs, all in support of them.

And that was the goal.

UPDATE: Just got a pic in from Sondra. You can't see me, I'm stuck behind a big sign. Look for the US flag with the Army flag below it on the far right of the picture.

Friday, November 14, 2003

Aw CRAP!

Imagine, if you will, our fearless hero (Me, of course) working to fix the fan in his bathroom. This should be simple. I've done vent work before, and this is just a simple replacement of the fan. Anyone who's done home repair may now laugh: there's no such thing as "simple" when you're fixing your house.

So I crawl up into the attic and shine the flashlight around. The fan is situated at the very end of the attic, where the roof slopes down. Not much space. No problem, I think to myself. I push my toolbox forward, plant my boot against a rafter, and push myself forward.

Imagine, if you will, our hero's surprise as his boot slips off the rafter. Imagine again our hero's surprise as his now unsupported foot plunges through the drywall that serves as a ceiling. And imagine once more how surprised our hero was as most of his leg appears in the hallway below, followed closely by several cubic feet of flame-retardant vermiculite, while his unmentionables slam against the rafter he was positioned above.

The fan works, I'm proud to say. Now, to fix the god-damned ceiling. Should be a simple job..........

I was surfing around and found the following. It is a quick summary of William T. Sherman's march to the sea.

Sherman, you will recall, is like a hero to today's American Left, because his end was to eradicate slavery. They give him a pass on his means, of course, because the ends were so compelling.

"War is cruelty. You cannot refine it."

That's what Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman told Atlanta officials in September 1864. He arrested factory workers who had made Confederate uniforms and sent those women north as prisoners. In October, after his supply train was fired upon, Sherman ordered his men to "burn 10 or 12 houses of known secessionists, kill a few at random, and let them know it will be repeated every time a train is fired upon."
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Sherman put his theory into practice. During 1863 his forces in Mississippi pillaged and burned towns. In the summer of 1864, Sherman pressed down on Atlanta and bombarded the city's residences with cannons that could, as he wrote in August, "pick out almost any house in town" and "make the inside of Atlanta too hot to be endured."

In 1865, as Sherman's troops marched into South Carolina, the first state to secede, Sherman informed Washington that "the whole army is burning with an insatiable desire to wreak vengeance upon South Carolina. I almost tremble at her fate, but feel that she deserves all that seems to be in store for her."
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Northern journalist David Conyngham described the night of Feb. 17, 1865, when South Carolina's capital city, Columbia, burned: "The streets were soon crowded with helpless women and children, some in night clothes. Agonized mothers, seeking their children, all affrighted and terrified, were rushing on all sides from the raging flames and falling houses. Invalids had to be dragged from their beds, and lay exposed to the flames and smoke that swept the streets, or to the cold of open air in backyards."

The New York Herald also described devastation and noted that soldiers "throw in an occasional murder 'just to bring an old hard-fisted cuss to his senses.'"

Nice, hunh?

Did Sherman do the right thing by sacking Atlanta and South Carolina in his drive to defeat the Confederacy and end slavery, even though it cost tens of thousands of civilians their lives?

I was surfing around and found the following. It reminded me of a passage from A Rumor of War, which is a first person nonfiction account of war in Vietnam. The author is arriving at Danang with his boot camp graduates and, while on the tarmac waiting for their truck, they encounter a grizzled and hardened Gunnery Sergeant laughing and joking with a group of other soldiers.

Then a truck pulls up and some other fellows start moving caskets from the back of the truck to the belly of a plane.

Everyone goes quiet, and the Gunny, now solemn, shakes his head and says: "Goddamn this war".

That's how this make me feel. My opinion is that we need to do what we're doing, but nonetheless, from a "what a pathetic species" perspective:

Well, from me, anyways. The g/f and I are taking a day trip down to Yelm, and just relaxing. The more I can get away from Seattle, the happier I am, and this is the only day we both have off together. So, you won't be seeing much of me today. Tomorrow I'm heading out with Analog Kid to the NION-rod counter protest, so that we can let the troops know that they're appreciated, then to the range. I'll let you know how it goes.

I see in the news that the flooding in LA is continuing. California is getting hammered this year, it seems. That should be a sign for any right-thinking person to get the hell out, if you ask me. But then, I live in Seattle, so I don't have much room to talk. At least I'm making my plans to get out.

This is a great site for those of you who have bandwidth. I suggest sorting by Most Popular (radio button toward to foot of the search area). Check out the pics from the now-closed Kai Tak airport in Hong Kong. Neat!

One boggles at what a "Lies of the Dimmy Donks" blog would look like. I think it might fail for lack of bandwidth; i mean, seven days worth of content on that site might amount to sixty or seventy posts. Maybe it could have two flavors - "Broadband Only" and "Dial Up", the latter slimming things down by only delivering a couple days of American Leftist lies at a time.

If you think that Iraqis aren't doing enough, then you're being mislead by your media. Thousands of people are applying to be members of IP, FPS, and the civil defense force. They are begging for the security to be in their hands. We know how to handle those scum. The Americans are more interested in being nice and all about human rights and free speech and stuff. We have our own Law and court systems which we can use but the CPA won't allow us to. They are being too lenient and forgiving on our expence. If you think that is what is required to build a successful democracy then you're too deluded. You don't know the first thing about the Iraqi society.

For one, anyone who doesn't get all their news from the normal liberal pipeline KNOWS that the media isn't showing everything that's going on in Iraq. That's been proven. So it's no surprise that an Iraqi is the one who's making this statement.

And second, I honestly believe that the scariest thing we can do to the terrorists who are attacking Iraqis is give those who were attacked some guns, maps, and the radio frequencies to artillery or air support, and turn them loose. Giving these people the ability to defend themselves should be paramount.

Third, the Iraqis know who's doing this, and they're pissed.

Another thing I'm sure you haven't seen in your news. There are paintings on the walls all over Baghdad warning Arab foreigners from a bloody revenge if they keep messing with our affairs. Iraqis are openly calling the GC to quit the Arab League.

I think we should be stepping back and supporting those Iraqis who are out for terrorist blood. They seem willing, why aren't we?

Most historians agree that modern feminism began in 1963, with the publication of a bestselling book called The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. The conventional account holds that Friedan was a suburban housewife who became bored with her life, realizing that her marriage was nothing more than a "comfortable concentration camp." Three years later, in 1966, she founded the National Organization for Women (NOW) and became its first president. Friedan's struggle to break free of the deadening routine of childrearing and housekeeping was held up as an example for other women to follow.

Sound familiar? This is the start of when women were lied to, by other women. The big lie was "You can have it all." And as much as people want to believe that, it's a lie. You can't have it all. Nobody can, unless you're fabulously rich or the relative of someone who is. Sacrifices have to be made in every aspect of life. I would love to have a new car. I would love to go out and buy a new pistol, and have my home armory. I would love to take month-long trips across this nation. But I can't. Attaining your goals requires hard work. Years of it. For both men and women.

But I digress. The author uncovers several repulsive facts about Friedan, and deconstructs her entire life.

Friedan later married a fellow leftist, Carl Friedan, and devoted her life to the cause of Marxist revolution. Friedan spent her married years working as a "labor journalist", a professional propagandist for the Left. Her full-time maid did the housework. As her ex-husband Carl later noted, Friedan "was in the world during the whole marriage" and "seldom was a wife and mother."

Doesn't sound like much of a marriage to begin with, if you ask me. I guess that whole "housewife" thing never bothered her, because she never experienced it. In fact, when you look at Friedan's writings, you can see exactly where they come from.

In the Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels had shocked the world by calling for the abolition of marriage and family, which they viewed as oppressive institutions. They wrote:

What is the present family based on? On capitalism, the acquisition of private property. It exists in all of its meaning only for the bourgeoisie, and will vanish when capitalism vanishes. Are you accusing us that we want to end the exploitation by parents of their children? We confess to that crime?The bourgeois sees in his wife nothing but an instrument of production.

Doesn't look to good, does it? While I hesitate to say that the entire feminist movement is based on this ideology, it's not far removed. But what happens when women take Friedan's advice?

In the November 19, 1990 issue of Newsweek, a freelance writer named Kay Eberling ruffled many left-wing feathers with a column entitled, "The Failure of Feminism." She wrote:

To me, feminism has backfired against women. In 1973 I left what could have been a perfectly good marriage, taking with me a child in diapers, a 10-year-old Plymouth and Volume 1, Number One of Ms. Magazine. I was convinced I could make it on my own. In the last 15 years my ex has married or lived with a succession of women. As he gets older, his women stay in their mid-20s. Meanwhile, I've stayed unattached. He drives a BMW. I ride buses.

Eberling had accepted the feminist teaching that men were disposable, easily replaceable, and perhaps not even necessary. But in practice, it turned out to be women who were left out in the cold, once men were released from the traditional obligation to protect and provide for them.

My girlfriend is one of the strongest women I know. She could be out there, making a living on her own, and she did so for years. Several members of my family have done the same. And they have all come to the same conclusion. Being "free and empowered" is a load of horseshit. Not only that, but the feminist movement released men from their obligations. If you tell a man that he's nothing but a sperm donor, then fine, that's all he's going to be. But to then turn around and scream "Act like a man and take responsibility for yourself!" doesn't work. You've already turned the guy loose. Does that make the guy right? No. A man should step up to the plate and take responsibility, no matter what. But you have an entire generation of men who have been told, by the feminist movement, that they're useless. Women don't need them. And so they have acted with that knowledge in mind. They have become "pussified".

More to the point, angry young men deprived of a father's discipline, bursting with hormones and unrestrained by traditional notions of courtship, marriage and "gentlemanly" conduct run wild in the streets, wreaking exactly the sort of violence, havoc and chaos that dictators need to justify their crackdowns.

The modern feminist movement has been a huge force in tearing down the traditional constraints placed on men. My father impressed upon me a code of conduct which I try to follow to this day, with the occasional slip-up. I don't see many fathers doing that with their sons, if the fathers are there at all. When you take away the male figure in a boy's life, you take away the main figurehead which he bases himself on. And that leads to teens who don't have that code of conduct impressed on them.

This fella worked as administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy during the Clinton Years.

You know all that talk about the war being tailor made for Halliburton?

It's all, well, you know, bullshit.

There has been a series of allegations and innuendos recently to the effect that government contracts for work in Iraq and Afghanistan are being awarded in an atmosphere redolent with the "stench of political favoritism and cronyism," to use the description in a report put out by the Center for Public Integrity on campaign contributions by companies doing work in those two countries.

One would be hard-pressed to discover anyone with a working knowledge of how federal contracts are awarded -- whether a career civil servant working on procurement or an independent academic expert -- who doesn't regard these allegations as being somewhere between highly improbable and utterly absurd.

Talks on Kosovo's final status could start in mid-2005 if the breakaway Serbian province under U.N. administration meets rule-of-law, democracy and other standards by then, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday.

"The proposition is that if Kosovars can meet these standards there will be a review of where they stand in mid-2005," U.S. Deputy Undersecretary for Political Affairs Marc Grossman told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

"If they can meet these standards we will all then be prepared to begin the process of discussing final status for Kosovo."

Four years down, two to go. We're such a patient people, when the right President is in office.

Aaron over at Free Will has found the time to expound about economic thinking in Europe (and , i will put words in his mouth here, it's deleterious effect upon the Dying Continent). Read it here: Thinking About the New Cold War.

Oh yes, it's another dispatch from the lovely city of "For me but not for thee!" Let's warm you up a bit, shall we?

Do you remember the Supreme Court rulings on sodomy? How about the hullabaloo over same-sex marriages? Legalizing drug use? What do all of those have in common, you ask? Because the battle cry for the loony left has been "YOU CAN'T LEGISLATE MORALITY!"

C'mon, you've heard that millions of times, I bet. Any time some issue or another dear to the Moonbat's shriveled hearts hits the courts, you have dozens of idiots outside screaming "YOU CAN'T LEGISLATE MORALITY!" Hell, sometimes morality has nothing to do with the issue, but they're out there anyways. "YOU CAN'T LEGISLATE MORALITY!"

Well, it seems they have an addendum for that. "YOU CAN'T LEGISLATE MORALITY! BUT WE CAN!"

The serving of sushi on a nearly naked woman has been a monthly feature at Bonzai, a Pioneer Square nightclub (in Seattle). Now the practice, known as "naked sushi," is coming under fire from activists at the University of Washington. Cherry Cayabyab, president of the local chapter of National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, says, "It's dehumanizing to be treated as a plate." Promoters and customers reply that naked sushi is performance art. Promoter Cheresa Nemitz says the human form becomes an aesthetic tableau that changes as each piece of sushi is taken for consumption

These women wear a thong and saran wrap, have sushi placed on their nearly naked bodies, and let men eat off of them. Now, I really don't give a damn what you do to make a buck as long as it's legal. And as far as I know, nobody has made a law against being a dinner plate. But for the moonbats in Seattle, it's HORRIBLE! EEEEK! EEEEK! Women making money off of being naked!

Naked sushi began in Japan and also has spread to Los Angeles and New York. It involves an array of sticky rice mixed with raw fish and other Japanese delicacies placed on clear plastic wrap over the torso of a prone model. At Bonzai, seven models work in half-hour shifts. Beneath the plastic wrap, each wears a thong and a few flower petals.

Just so we're clear on this, these women aren't getting paid to have sex with men. They're not even dancing on a brass pole, which is perfectly legal. They're turning their bodies into a dinner plate. And getting paid for it.

This is just ANOTHER example of liberal hypocrisy in this city. The moonbats are always screaming about multi-culturalism, but a custom that started in Japan? Nope, can't have it. "YOU CAN'T LEGISLATE MORALITY!" they scream. But obviously they have no problems doing so. These idiots demand more money for the homeless, but want to stop these seven women from actually making enough money for rent. Seattle is populated by idiots.

Oh, and by the way, I don't give a shit about naked sushi. Hell, I don't even eat sushi; I'll take my fish good and cooked, thank you very much. If these women want to pay their rent by turning themselves into dinner plates, more power to them. But the hypocrisy inherent in the moonbats' screeching is almost more than I can bear.

Just remember people, when the "liberals" talk about equality, they only want it for themselves. Every time a moonbat up here screeches about "equality" I can hear Napoleon in the back of my mind, "Some Animals are more equal than others!" Because if you're not on their plantation, you can go to hell as far as the moonbats are concerned.

Hey Tim, that might be a good post pic for you. "Hypocrisy Runs Rampant". I'll be using that a lot for Seattle.

A couple of things that I just wanted to bring to your attention. One is Bill Hobbs' take on the media coverage of the war, superimposed with the Battle of Midway.

If all you know of the Battle of Midway is the sinking of the Yorktown - if all you know of the Battle of Midway is these pictures - then you don't know the truth about the Battle of Midway.

You don't know that the Japanese lost four of the six aircraft carriers that had attacked Pearl Harbor - the Akagi, the Kaga, the Hiryu, and the Soryu, sent to their deserved final resting place - and more than one hundred trained pilots. You don't know that the United States victory at Midway derailed the Japanese offensive in the Pacific, postponed their plans to invade New Caledonia, Fiji, and Samoa, and turned the tide in the Pacific. You don't know that, in a strategic sense, the United States started to win World War 2 in the Pacific at the Battle of Midway.

Go check it out. I heard some Radio talk show host (can't remember the name) while I was skimming the channels say "If the media of today were covering WWII, you would either be speaking German, or you would be a lampshade or a bar of soap."

The UK is one of the few credible military powers left in the developed world, yet it can't sustain a proportionate share of the burden of even a small war. And, in all his indestructible condescension, it never occurs to Sir Max to wonder how it must sound to American ears to be told you're doing it all wrong by folks who can barely do it at all.

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The EU has done a grand job of trumpeting its weakness as strength, but the fact remains that there's something hollow at the heart of European identity. You can't be a great power without great power: Slobodan Milosevic called the EU's bluff on that a decade ago.

Analog Kid is heading to the NION-rod's little hate fest as well, and has a few ideas for what signs to make. We'll be stapling the signs to axe handles, of course. Since these "peace protesters" are anything but peaceful.

So, what suggestions do you have for my sign? I'll also have my US flag and Army flag on a pole with me, but I need something I can write big and bold.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (search) say they are "the conscience of the Congress," and have used the moniker most recently to explain the group's opposition to war in Iraq and the cost of its aftermath.

Because, as you know, allowing Saddam to continue murdering and torturing people is fine, so long as American doesn't do anything to stop it.

God, I can't stand these people.

CBC members cite as a recent victory their influence in persuading Senate Democrats to stall judicial nominees like Mississippi judge Charles Pickering. They are also actively opposing the nomination of African-American California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown, whom they say is too temperamental and unqualified to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

That would be two judges who have impeccable credentials. Judge Brown was re-elected to her seat on the bench by an overwhelming margin in California. CALIFORNIA, people! Not exactly a hotbed of conservative power! The only people smearing these two judges are the liberal congresscritters who are desperately trying to hold on to their "legislation by judiciary".

But some are quick to point out that as strong and resourceful as the CBC is, it does not represent all blacks.

"They are not the only ones," said Alvin Williams, President and CEO of the conservative-leaning Black America's Political Action Committee (search). BAMPAC finances black candidates who support school vouchers and privatizing Social Security and oppose abortion rights Â all positions antithetical to the CBC.

That would be the school vouchers supported by the majority of black parents, so that they can pull their kids out of the state-funded hell that the CBC wants them in. I've stated before that the Donks don't want children to be educated, or to make a better life for themselves. Because if these children grow up to be successful individuals, they won't be voting for the Donks anymore. Thus, it's in the Donks best interests to keep people as uneducated as possible.

And the real kicker lies here, discussing all the different caucuses:

Like the CBC, its members are all Democrats and share many of the CBC's positions. Most recently, the two caucuses announced that along with the Congressional Native American Caucus, the Asian Pacific American Caucus and other House Democratic members that they are backing a bill that would increase health care access to minorities.

It's rather telling, isn't it? The party that separates people by color, has groups defined by their skin, is the Democrats. The Republican's couldn't care less what your skin pigment is.

Gee, I saw several news stories about Howie Dean forgoing public campaign financing, and ALL of them left out a key point: Dean had previously vowed never to do so. The creepy little rat even stated that if anyone else did so, he'd make an issue out of it.

Did you see that story last week about the new bridge that opened in the Bay Area? It's the Zampa Bridge, named after a Golden Gate Bridge ironworker who turned bridge designer. Anyway, they opened the bridge without fully paving it. Oh the humanity.

It is, in a way, an odd thing to honor those who died in defense of our country - in defense of us, in wars far away. The imagination plays a trick. We see these soldiers in our minds as old and wise. We see them as something like the Founding Fathers - grave and grey-haired. But, most of them were boys when they died, and they gave up two lives - the ones they were living, and the ones they would have lived. When they died, they gave up their chances to be husbands and fathers and grandfathers. They gave up their chances to be revered old men. They gave up everything for our country...for us. And all we can do, is remember.

Not, I'm not talking about our new troll "Ralphy", I'm talking about Not In Our Name, a part of the fifth column in America. Just take a stroll through their website and you'll see the picture perfect example of "delusion".

Not in our name will you invade countries bomb civilians, kill more children letting history take its course over the graves of the nameless

Now, when Saddam was doing this, it was fine and dandy with these goons. Because you see, they really don't give a shit about what happens as long as America doesn't do anything that might free an oppressed people or dispose of a terrorist supporting dictator.

Not in our name will you erode the very freedoms you have claimed to fight for...

Like freedom of speech? Oh, wait, we've already tried that in the form of a bake sale, haven't we? We all know the end result of that.

Not by our hands will we supply weapons and funding for the annihilation of families on foreign soil Not by our mouths will we let fear silence us

But allowing the UN to embezzle money is just fine, and allowing the UN to run countries for their own greedy profit is fine as well. Because it's not America, you see.

Not by our hearts will we allow whole peoples or countries to be deemed evil

Because if you would just listen the NION asswipes and leave the genocidal dictators alone, those people will be dead, and we won't have to worry about it any more!

Anyways, what's the point of all this? Well, these chowderhead have decided to hang signs from the I-5 overpass while the 81st Armored Battalion is heading out to Iraq. I found out about this from a local radio station. So it looks like I have plans on Saturday, standing opposite these morons and showing the troops that I do support them. Any local readers who want to go get in touch with me. I'll be going to the range afterwards, so we can heckle the idiots and then blast at targets later.

Oh and the best part is this: When you go to their events page, the Seattle protest is right over their "Seattle Peace Choir" notice. Which is going to Cuba. Yep, nothing says peace like going to Cuba and singing for a Communist dictator who shoots or jails political dissidents! I can't believe that they actually don't see the hypocrisy inherent in that stance! While they wail about "crushing of dissent" and about how so many of our liberties have been lost (which they can't name one of, by the way), they celebrate peace by going to a dictator controlled hellhole known for torture and death of anyone who speaks against "el Presidente".

George Soros, one of the world's richest men, has given away nearly $5 billion to promote democracy in the former Soviet bloc, Africa and Asia. Now he has a new project: defeating President Bush.

"It is the central focus of my life," Soros said, his blue eyes settled on an unseen target. The 2004 presidential race, he said in an interview, is "a matter of life and death."

Soros, who has financed efforts to promote open societies in more than 50 countries around the world, is bringing the fight home, he said. On Monday, he and a partner committed up to $5 million to MoveOn.org, a liberal activist group, bringing to $15.5 million the total of his personal contributions to oust Bush.

Overnight, Soros, 74, has become the major financial player of the left. He has elicited cries of foul play from the right. And with a tight nod, he pledged: "If necessary, I would give more money."

"America, under Bush, is a danger to the world," Soros said. Then he smiled: "And I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is."

George Soros, one of the world's richest men, has given away nearly $5 billion to promote democracy in the former Soviet bloc, Africa and Asia. Now he has a new project: defeating President Bush.

"It is the central focus of my life," Soros said, his blue eyes settled on an unseen target. The 2004 presidential race, he said in an interview, is "a matter of life and death."

Soros, who has financed efforts to promote open societies in more than 50 countries around the world, is bringing the fight home, he said. On Monday, he and a partner committed up to $5 million to MoveOn.org, a liberal activist group, bringing to $15.5 million the total of his personal contributions to oust Bush.

Overnight, Soros, 74, has become the major financial player of the left. He has elicited cries of foul play from the right. And with a tight nod, he pledged: "If necessary, I would give more money."

"America, under Bush, is a danger to the world," Soros said. Then he smiled: "And I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is."

LONDON — In parts of some countries in the Middle East and South Asia, the penalty for a particularly shocking sort of murder is basically nothing, because honor killing is simply a tradition.

But it's a tradition some immigrants are taking with them to Britain, where police are on a mission to end the practice that they say has no honor.

In one case, a 16-year-old Kurdish girl, Heshu Yones (search), moved to England with her family who were refugees from Saddam Hussein's Iraq. She embraced the ways of her new home but was still proud to be a Kurd (search) — she dressed up, wore makeup and fell in love.

For that, her father stabbed her 17 times with a kitchen knife last October and killed her. He recently pleaded guilty to the murder. The girl apparently planned to run away but decided not to because she thought it would ruin her family.

The killing apparently was sparked by the belief that she brought shame to the family. Women who want a divorce, reject an arranged marriage or have a boyfriend while living with their parents sometimes are killed because their actions are perceived as a dishonor to the family.

It is pure fiction that this pro-American sentiment was either squandered after Sept. 11 or lost under the Bush Administration. It never existed. Envy for America, resentment of our power, hatred of our success has been a staple for decades, but most particularly since victory in the cold war left us the only superpower.

Bill Clinton was the most accommodating, sensitive, multilateralist President one can imagine, and yet we know that al-Qaeda began the planning for Sept. 11 precisely during his presidency. Clinton made humility his vocation, apologizing variously for African slavery, for internment of Japanese Americans, for not saving Rwanda. He even decided that Britain should return the Elgin Marbles to Greece. A lot of good that did us. Bin Laden issued his Declaration of War on America in 1996--at the height of the Clinton Administration's hyperapologetic, good-citizen
internationalism.

Yep. The only reason France is talking to us now is because Americans have hurt France with their self-decided boycott. USS Clueless has a lot more to say on that subject.

The world apparently likes the U.S. when it is on its knees. From that the Democrats deduce a foreign policy — remain on our knees, humble and supplicant, and enjoy the applause and "support" of the world.

This is not just degrading. It is a fool's bargain--3,000 dead for a day's worth of nice words and a few empty U.N. resolutions. The Democrats would forfeit American freedom of action and initiative in order to get back — what? Another nice French editorial? To be retracted as soon as the U.S. stops playing victim?

Well, as far as I can tell, that is the Donk's policy.

The Europeans, Ajami astutely observes, disdain us for our excessive religiosity (manifest, they imagine, by evolution being expelled from schools while prayer is ushered back in)--while the Arab world despises us as purveyors of secularism. We cannot win for losing. We are widely reviled as enemies of Islam, yet in the 1990s we engaged three times in combat — in the Persian Gulf and in the Balkans — to rescue Kuwait, Bosnia and Kosovo, Muslim peoples all. And in the last two cases, there was nothing in it for the U.S.; it was humanitarianism and good international citizenship of the highest order.

We tried that whole "lets be friends" thing before, and it got us nowhere. So now we're going to play the "don't you dare fuck with us" game, which works so much better. Don't believe me? Al-Queda is reduced to attacking Saudi Arabia now, instead of New York City. And as long as we keep pressure on those sand-fleas, they won't be able to do even that.

We need to stop worrying so much about world opinion, and deal with reality.

I stopped watching the NFL about four or five years ago because, frankly, it just got too damn boring for me. Drew Sharp has an excellent column today about the NFL's version of Socialism -- otherwise known as "parity".

...When Buffalo and Dallas combined for three points in the second half of their game Sunday, that was bad football. A combined 11 turnovers by Baltimore and St. Louis was bad football. The Lions and Chicago Bears on the same field was bad football.

And since when is bad football good for fans?

It is when the NFL suits on Park Avenue tell them it is.

The NFL needs to soften the salary cap, providing two or three exemptions to improve depth on team rosters, which the current cap and inevitable injuries decimate. Equity creates a false sense of achievement, but the league doesn't care. It's perfectly content with perfectly sculpted, easily interchangeable athletes instead of colorful, instinctive football players who don't necessarily fit a mold, like 41-year-old survivor Doug Flutie...

I still worry, and still feel shame that I can't go. Not because I love war, not because I love death, few actually could hate it more than I do. But that's where the need is, the need for someone to make a difference, to matter. The need for someone to look out and fuss and worry over our people. I mourn every loss, and cheer every homecoming. How could any of us do less and still look into the mirror in the morning............

Last night I talked to an old friend during the Eagles game (the pathetic louse is a Giants fan LOL) and he asked me what I thought about Iraq. I told him I think we should go back on the attack. As I have said here many times, I see and regret the news about dead American soldiers but not a whole lot about our successes. The way it stands right now, when American forces engage the enemy, lose 2 guys and eliminate 5 bad guys, the story is: "Two More American Soldiers Killed in Iraq".

That seems disingenous to me.

If our guys are dying in vain that's bad bad bad, obviously. If they're doing damage in return then it's not in vain.

Sometimes one cannot help but stand in humility and awe when encountering the courage and fortitude of other. This is one of those times.

Mr Askerzai helped to seal the treasure in seven trunks and guarded it along with the assets of the central bank - gold bars the "size of your arm" worth about $A120 million - also kept in the presidential palace in a vault carved out of rock.

After the Taliban captured Kabul in 1996, a delegation of 10 mullahs arrived to inspect the vaults. A pistol held against his head, Mr Askerzai opened the combination lock so they could inspect the gold bars. They had found the second prize, but did not realise the real treasure was in a vault above their heads.

The Taliban asked if there was any other gold but Mr Askerzai remained silent. He was jailed for 3 months, during which he was beaten and tortured, but he did not reveal anything.

"I wasn't scared; I didn't care for my life," he said.

On the Taliban's last night in power, they stuffed the central bank's cash reserves into tin trunks and arrived at the vault for the gold bars. They spent four hours trying to open the vault. Mr Askerzai watched.

Unknown to them, five years earlier he had broken the key and left it in the lock. The Taliban gave up and fled as Northern Alliance forces edged closer.

Monday, November 10, 2003

A mighty empire launches an unprecedented military campaign. It will patrol the globe to end a heinous and uncivilized form of behavior. Financing this pre-emptive project demands great sacrifices. Old allies refuse to participate. The empire's lonely unilateral exercise drags on for decades, costing thousands of lives. Observers from Cuba to Moscow assume that this folly will bring down the empire.

Many will say that this is the story of the Bush administration's war on terror. In fact, however, it describes Britain's 1807-1867 effort to suppress the Atlantic slave trade. It took 60 bitter years but in the end Britain did succeed in its moral campaign. By the second half of the century there was an international legal consensus banning the trade. How Britain managed this unlikely feat is worth reviewing, especially now, when there are so many questions about the direction of the US post-Iraq.

If the Donks had been in charge of England in the 1800's, slavery would still be around. Just so you know.

On November 10, 1775, the Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia passed a resolution stating that "two Battalions of Marines be raised" for service as landing forces with the fleet. This resolution established the Continental Marines and marked the birth date of the United States Marine Corps. Serving on land and at sea, these first Marines distinguished themselves in a number of important operations, including their first amphibious raid into the Bahamas in March 1776, under the command of Captain (later Major) Samuel Nicholas.

Sunday, November 09, 2003

This post from the LA Time requires a free registration to read. It may be worth your time, as it makes a point I believe I have not seen major media make yet:

Answering Osama bin Laden's call for holy war in Iraq, hundreds of followers from at least eight nations have entered the country and are playing a major role in attacking Western targets and Iraqi civilians, U.S. and Iraqi officials say.

Operatives of the Al Qaeda terrorist network and affiliated extremist groups are collaborating with Saddam Hussein loyalists, officials say, forming an array of shadowy alliances that are emerging as one of the biggest challenges to U.S.-led efforts to bring stability to the war-torn country.

Some officials believe that Iraq is replacing Afghanistan as the global center of Islamic jihad and becoming the prime locale for extremist Muslim fighters who are eager to confront Americans on Arab soil.

As many as 2,000 Muslim fighters from as far as Sudan, Algeria and Afghanistan are operating in Iraq, officials say. Ansar al Islam, an Iraqi group that was previously active in northern Iraq, also has made a comeback, officials say. The Bush administration says Ansar has ties to Al Qaeda.

I have said all along that I believe Iraq to be a "honey pot" being used by US Forces to attract Islamic wackos from the world over.

What we really learn from the above is that the Democrats' claim that the war in Iraq diverst forces and funds from the war on terror is errant. The war in Iraq is the war on terror.

Looks like Radical Islam is outing itself to its more moderate breathren.

Shocked and angered at an apparent suicide bombing against Muslim families in the midst of the holy month of Ramadan, ordinary Saudis said the bombing on Sunday would destroy any lingering support for Muslim militants.

Bombarded by brutal television and newspaper images of carnage caused by a midnight explosion at the housing compound of Muhaya, on Riyadh’s desert outskirts, many were united in condemning the second deadly attack in their capital in six months.

"What Islam is this? They are terrorists," said Hamdan Youssef, a 39-year-old businessman.

The attack came almost six months to the day after May 12 suicide bombings in Riyadh — which Saudis describe as their own Sept. 11 — killed 35 people, including nine Americans.

"Despite losing three governorships in the past month, Democrats continue to insist that their strategy of running every election as a referendum on Bush is working." Even if it costs them a fourth governorship in Louisiana this week.

Adding to what Dave posted below, it seems somewhat in line with what organizations like Human Rights Watch have been saying for some time. This link suggests 290,000 Iraqi and Kurdish people "disappeared" during Saddam's regime. Anyway, I did some math and of course the numbers will never be precise but 300,000 dead would mean that between the beginning of Hussein's reign (July 1979) and his eviction (May 2003), thirty-five people per daywere offed by Saddam and his henchmen.